


Heroes and Villains

by jukori



Series: Madness is the only sane response [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Family, Fluff, Friendship, Fun, Gen, Ridiculous, mustache - power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-12 09:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3351182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukori/pseuds/jukori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Black Canary prepared a special trainings session for the YJ team. They gonna play a little game of Heroes and Villains. Read more to find out. This story plays before Homefront.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rules

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KTrevo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KTrevo/gifts), [~kimchi1uva](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%7Ekimchi1uva).



> This shouldn't exist. I mean I am terribly busy, with school and I still am writing on another FF, which I haven't updated in like forever! OMG I am so awful! Anyhow I kind of like how it turned out and I hope you guys enjoyed it too :3
> 
> By the way the idea of the Fanfiction came to me after I read Wayward Heroes from Set Fiction. So check out her story, its good.
> 
> A special thanks goes to my Beat reader KTrevo! You are AWESOME! Thank you so much for your help and your support! I couldn't have done it without you!
> 
> If you have nothing better to do check out Mustache Robin on deviantart! (moustache_1 by ~kimchi1uva)
> 
> If you find any mistakes, something that doesn't make sense, sounds weird or if you have some questions or plot ideas please let me know! I want to improve my writing and am open for any help I can get ;)
> 
> please review!
> 
> It really helps me writing! every review is a huge motivation boost and makes me happy to a point that I wouldn't consider as normal anymore.

"Come on guys! Lets go. Lets go. LETS GO!"

Wally bounced up and down in excitement.

"Jesus! Will you already shut up Kid Mouth."

"Tss, not everybody is a moody bi-"

Robin elbowed his best friend into the side.

"Ouch man! What-"

The boy just rolled his eyes under the masked and tugged Kid Flash along with the rest of the team into the training room. Black Canary was already waiting.

"Hey Babe!" Wally greeted their blond teacher. "Ready for some one on one time with the Wallman?"

No reaction.

"Or some private tutoring in my mind?" He waggled suggestive with his eyebrows.

In favor of all present she ignored him again.

"Today's lesson is about extending your stealth technique and improve your teamwork." Black Canary declared. "Therefor we gonna play a little game."

Aqualad raised a questioning eyebrow, while Robin and Wally were smiling in anticipation.

"First of all i will divide you into two teams: Hero and Villain. In order to win the game the heroes get 4 hours to capture the villain. When I come back and the villain is still captive they win, if not they lose." She explained.

"They also need to bring the villain back here." Black Canary pointed at a dark rectangle on the floor.

"If not they lose too. Heroes are Miss Martian, Aqualad, Superboy, Artemis."

"Awesome!" KF grind widely from one ear to the other, before he high-fived his best bud in the most manly way.

"Oh and Kid Flash. Robin you will be the villain."

The speedster's face dropped immediately. Robins grin remained.

"Since Robin is our only villain he get a head start from ...," She looked at the boy for a sec. "15 minutes."

"I expect you to take the exercise serious. Everything is allowed. You can all use your powers freely. I'll be back at 2 pm with a special surprise for the winner. Have fun."

Black Canary smiled and waved goodbye.

"That doesn't sound fair, five against one," the Martian girl doesn't liked the idea of fighting against one of their friends very much.

"You not gonna stand a chance Boy Wonder!" Artemis laugh confidently.

"Rob?"

Wally turned around just to find an empty spot next to him.

"Damn I hate it when he does that..."

"We need a plan," Aqualad started.

"Kid Flash close the manual doors. Megan form a mental link. Superboy can you find something to...uh... contain Robin, after we catch him? Artemis, we're going to shut the zeta tubes down. Meet back here in 10 minutes."

Everyone nodded.


	2. Ready, set, go!

The Heroes assembled.

"What now?"

"We stay together and-"

And Aqualad got interrupted by the light flickering of and on till it went finally down.

"Looks like the game has started." Superboy pointed out the obvious as the shadows overtook the mountain.

A creepy laugh echoed through the darkness.

"I think someone got a hang of it. But~" Kid Flash pulled his infrared goggles down "Is not gonna work on me."

"We need to turn the lights back on." Kaldur said.

"Can't do that."

"Why not?"

Little Bats already overtook the monitor.

"Oh..."

"You think Robin hacked the main computer by now?"

Everyone's eyes were directed toward Wally, which was kind of difficult cause of the darkness and stuff, but they tried their best.

"Not sure. He might had not enough time to get into the control room yet...If, he would already reprogrammed the whole security system and believe me that's ain't gonna be pretty."

"Hmmm...Is there a way to get the lights back on?" Kaldur asked the second time. Man he hated it to get ignored.

"Yeah. We have to replace the fuses in the basement, than it should work again."

"Good. I want you and Superboy to secure the control room. Stay in contact. The rest goes down wit me."

"Nice way to put it."

"Not funny Kid Dork!"

"Aqualad, the door is looked." Megan informed.

"Let me try."

Spuerboy went past Megan. He lounged out and simply smashed the door in. Yay super-strength!

A barely noticeable sound came from the door frame as a Batarang exploded next to his ear.

"Superboy!" Megan screamed. "Are you all right?"

"I am fine." The clone stated. Nonetheless holding his dizzy head, while he was getting up on his feed. "But I think the explosion messed with my super hearing. I just can't hear ...right."

"It's okay Conner" Megan jumped in, sensing the discomfort of her teammate. "It will be back soon."

"I hope so."

"At least we know now that the Bird is serious."

"He is always serious when it comes to training...or fighting crime...or playing video games."

Wally said concerned. "But don't worry he always plays fair."

"Since when are villains fair?"

The question hung for a moment in the air.

"Lets go."


	3. Distraction 1

"Supey! Less brooding more moving!"

Wally stumbled slightly through the dark corridors of Mt. justice, checking from time to time if their were any signals of the villain they were currently after. Robin.

"You can't be still grumpy about your ear-thingy?"

"He placed a freaking Bomb next to my skull!"

"Oh come on-"

"And that was less than 5 minutes ago! I reserve all rights to still be angry!" Superboy exclaimed, as they reached the corner of the hallway.

"Don't make me sing the 'Bad day song' from the Muppet's again" Kid Flash warned seriously.

Suddenly Conner bumped in the back of the speedster.

"Why did you stop?"

Wally stepped to his left to revile the sight of a little candle and a lonely note placed on the ground.

"Whats that?" Conner asked confused.

"A trap." Wally replied smoothly.

He picked up the hastily scribbled note and read out loud:

"Bet you regret now you didn't took the ballet lessons.

Lov~ Robin

P.S.: One wrong step and you activate a chain reaction."

Wally looked up to find the floor and walls plastered with happily blinking bombs.

"Damn little..." KF muttered under his breath.

"Thought you guys were friends?" Conner wondered.

"Yeah, when he's on my side." Wally joked and run his fingers unconscious through his hair.

Superboy didn't laugh.


	4. Confrontation

"I hope the others gonna be fine." Megan said, trying to break the awkward silence between them, while they walked toward the basement.

Aqualad had one of this lightning blades out holding it as heroic as you actually could hold an over sized flashlight. At least they were able to see now.

"Oh come one." Artemis rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What should happen? The Boy Wonder is only human."

The Atlantean had enough of the pointless conversation. He didn't want to risk an attack by Robin so early, especially not with the odds against them.

"Megan the link." He reminded her.

She nodded slightly.

"Okay, I want you to concentrate and be careful. Robin might be only human, but-"

Hahahahahahaha

"Urgh, this laugh gives me the creeps!"

"Shoot. I think he spotted us."

"Really? What on earth made you think that?"

"Well-"

"Irony!"

"Hey Boy Blunder" Artemis yelled into the darkness, still pissed about the upcoming headache. She really needed to get used to this psychic stuff. "How about-"

"Ufff"

"Artemis!" Megan screamed as the archer got hit.

"Don't worry! Just go ahead!"

"But-"

"I am keeping him busy, so you guys can go and put the lights on. And after that we can capture him together! Right Kaldur?"

The leader agreed mentally.

"Oh come on Meg!" the archer thought, while feeling Megan's uneasiness all over her. "This is Robin we're talking about. R-O-B-I-N. Even if he's winning, and I am not saying that he does, what is he gonna do? Tickle me to death? He won't hurt me!"

"Right... It's Robin."

"We'll be back soon!" Aqualad said as he vanished and with him the light.


	5. Distraught

Fighting in the dark was never one of Artemis strong points. Actually she hated it, cause shooting arrows without a target was a big No-No in the archery business.

Time to change strategy, the girl thought, as she went from distant too close combat.

Well, that doesn't worked with Robin as opponent, she figured out seconds later. Artemis just got tossed around by the little bird like a toy. Driving back and forth. He was freaking playing with her right now. And it seemed like she was about to lose the game, as another hard punch hit her painfully in the stomach.

Suddenly Artemis had an idea. She grabbed into her quiver and pulled an arrow with a signal light on top out. Green Arrow gave it to her, just in case she would be tossed from a ship and stranded on a lonely island. She never really got what that was all about, but for once Artemis was thankful for her weird mentor.

The archer did what archers do best and just shot the damn arrow. Satisfied she watched the corridor lighten up in red, trying to remember everything of her surrounding. Just before the light went down the hero saw a dark shadow sticking out. Robin.

Hahahahahahaha

His laugh echoed again through the empty hallway.

The light of the signal fire was only short-living, and there were no more than two arrows left with it.

"Where are you?" She shouted frustrated.

Nothing but deadly silence answered the young girls call. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Her rapid heartbeat and her unsteady breath was all she could hear. It was nerve-wracking.

Than there was a rustling of clothes to her left. Artemis turned around and shot into emptiness. To her surprise the arrow bounced off a wall a few steps away from her. Great, she wasted an arrow and was trapped in a dead-end. The day was just getting better and better.

Faint steps were growing louder, circling around its target. Nothing but thick darkness surrounded her, holding Artemis prison in her own rabbit howl. Than a cold breath was ghosting over her exposed neck and she screamed in fear.

Panic overtook her instincts as she trashed out in all directions.

Hahahahahahaha

All logic was gone. She took her last arrow, but instead of shooting, Artemis lit it up in her hands and clung desperately on to the fading light.

She tried to ignore the grimaces of the shadows on the walls.

"It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. There is nothing scary at all. It's just dark. Your not scared. Your not scared." she repeated over and over.

The last arrow was flickering up and died quietly.

And now she was scared. There was no denying it. Sacred of the darkness. Scared of the shadows. Scared of the silence. And most of all she was scared of being alone.

"No. No! Nonono... I don't...I...please...no." Artemis sobbed, pressing her back at the solid wall behind her.

She just wanted to see. Hands flowing fanatically over the cold stone in a hopeless search for a light switch. She knew for a fact that the light would most certainly not go back on, but just the thought of something she actually could try made her feel better.

Artemis breathed in relief when she found it and pushed down. An electric shock went through her whole body, as she hit the ground.

The last thing Artemis saw were Robins combat boots in front of her face.

"...need to get traught."


	6. Priorities

"Finally!" Megan said in relief, as the two of them reached the basement and went in.

The door snapped unnoticed behind her and Aqualad. Warm air filled the large room.

"Kaldur are you all right? You look pale." Honest concern accompanied Miss Martian's voice.

"It's a little exhausting to hold the electric flow of the blade for a longer time, but I am fine. Don't worry."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." He confirmed stubborn.

They continued to walk in silence.

"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" Megan said after a while.

Kaldur hadn't noticed before, but she was right, the temperature was rising.

"No. Now that you mentioned it. It is. But we are almost there."

He pointed at a large dark spot on the wall.

"We did it!"

Both Heroes were standing in front of the fuse box.

Megan opened it with a soft noise. A almost invisible mechanism clicked, followed by gas pellets exploding towards her direction. Before Megan could react a yellow cloud spread around her face. She cough loudly.

From one moment to another the girls movements stopped. Her body was twisting and the Martian girls eyes rolled back into her head.

"Megan!" Kaldur called.

He caught her before she dropped on the floor. Automatically checking over Megan's vitals. He put the girl in his arms down. She seemed just to be unconscious. Robin wouldn't -

A kick into his left side let Aqualad tumbled backwards.

Hahahahahahaha

Kaldur lost his concentration for a moment, accompanied by the light of his blade. And as if that wasn't bad enough the room kept on getting hotter and hotter. He felt dizzy and exhaust by the energy loss from before. Worst of all: the little Bat had the upper hand in the dark.

This didn't look good. He needed to turn the lights on and that fast. Another attack was coming. Kicks and punches were exchanged. Kaldur barely managed to defend himself.

Than he realized: This was all planed by the Boy Wonder. The light, the separation of the team and the temperature change. Every single moves of the Heroes were exactly calculated. If he lost now the rest of his friends would be without a leader and he doubted that Kid Flash and Superboy could handle the bird alone. Their teamwork was...well questionable.

Kaldur totally underestimated Robin in more than just one way.

By now the heat in the room was almost not to endure for him.

Aqualad took another step forward, stabilizing his defense-position.

BOOM

Everything went black.

Robin stepped over his opponent and pulled the fuse back in.

"...need to settle your priorities."

He looked at the watch on his holographic wrist computer.

"Ups, gotta hurry!"


	7. Distraction 2

"This is sooooo not fun!"

Wally lifted his right foot carefully to avoid the red blinking light on the floor. They were almost done. He could already see the end of the corridor. Just two more steps and these torture would be over.

Gosh, he hated going slow. Robin knew that. Everybody does! And the little Birds trap was all about being slow and thoughtful and crap. It was purposely designed to troll him! It had to be! All Wally wanted to do right now was to use his powers and run.

This was totally not cool from Rob. They needed to have a serious convo after the stupid training session!

Honestly KF didn't liked BC's game one bit. Well sure the game itself was awesome and fun, but robin being the villain was... just not fair. It was like playing Clue with the mini Bat. And that always ended with Wally tossing all the pieces trough the room and Roy laughing at him for being such a baby.

"How is it going Supy?" Kid Flash yelled.

"I am right behind you." The clone replied annoyed.

"Sorry. Thought your super hearing was off?" Wally grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, emphasizing on the super."

Suddenly the bright lights of the mountain went back to life, totally blinding the Speedster. He lost his concentration and with that his balance. Automatically he grabbed on the wall, realizing too late the birdarang that was there. He looked confused at the by now angrily beeping device like he wasn't sure what to think of it. Than his brain took over.

"DOWN!" Wally screamed in panic.

Both boys were throwing themselves on the ground.

Kid Flash blinked. Nothing had happened.

Slowly he inspected the birdaranges closer.

"Awww man! He totally fooled us! This things weren't set ..."

"So we were basically wasting one hour for nothing?"

Wally didn't reply at first. He seemed to be deep in thought. One can never be actually sure about that if you're talking about a speedster.

"Gotta go," Kid Flash said and headed for the control room, ignoring Superboys calls to wait for him.


	8. Perplexity

Running. It was his thing. Kid Flash was running. And that fast.

Through hallways...Through corridors...Through the gate of the control room.

He only stopped when his face was kissing the ground, which was rather surprising for the speedster. He laid on the floor with all four limbs sprawled out.

A colorless wire had been spanned across the entrance and had made him fall.

"And the prize for the most obvious trap goes to: The Bird Brain..." Wally muttered under his breath, not bothering to stand up yet.

"Still worked on you." Somebody snickered mischievous.

That got the speedster's attention. He looked up.

In front of the gigantic main computer, which was currently decorated with little bats, stood a leather armchair. The back was turned towards the screen, so Wally couldn't see if there was a person sitting in it or not. Hmmm, it looks kind of comfy, Wally thought.

"Well, well, well. Taking your time, ain't ya?" Robins voice was coming from it.

"Missed me?" KF grinned at the backside of the armchair.

Suddenly it turned around, all Al Capone like.

"Dude! Seriously?" Wally's eyes widened in shock.

"Jealous?" The boy teased.

"Totally!" Wally exclaimed in true excitement, bouncing up and down for the second time of the day.

He stepped closer to take a better look of his best friend, who was currently his enemy.

Robin smiled.

There he was. The Boy Wonder. Robin. Rob. Robby-Pooh ... Dick Grayson.

Sitting in all his glory in a king sized armchair, right in front of him. All nonchalant. Legs crossed. And twisting a freaking mustache while holding a glass of wine- no cherry juice. KF doubt Rob would drink real booze. He wasn't stupid. Daddy!Bats would kill him.

Wally brought his thoughts back on track and focused on what was to do next.

"Oh noooo! It's Mustache Robin! I am doomed!" He said melodramatically, trying to sound as terrified as possible.

The corners of both boys mouths were twitching dangerously upwards.

"Yes you are."


	9. Betrayal

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep

Robin checked his watch yet again.

"Time is up."

"Huh? Wha- Woahhhhh!"

Kid Flash tried to hold his balance as an unknown force tugged his body upwards.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

His feet were lifted from the ground.

Mustache Robin smirked.

"Anti-gravity field." The boy chirped.

"What? When? How? Oh, just forget it!"

Now Wally noticed the metallic tubes on the wall of the roof and on the ground. They were circling around him, keeping him in a state of weightlessness.

Slowly he flew through the air. Higher and higher.

"You think your soooo smart Boy Wonder, but you forgot to put a barrier around the field! What if I just leave?"

KF's head bumped lightly against the rooftop.

Mustache Robin grinned victorious up to him.

"You would probably crack your head open, if you fall from that high."

That made the speedster go quiet for a moment. He opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, in the useless attempt to get something smart out of it. Wally was looking like a fish out of water.

"So, now let me bore you to death by telling you my evil master plan!"

Mustache Robin threw his head back, laughing evilly.

"Muhahahahahahaha!"

"Oh man, I really do want a mustache too..." KF muttered.

Suddenly the door opened. Superboy entered. Looking at the picture that was spread out before him, while having his own mental parade of What The Fuck.

There was Robin with a mustache, laughing like a psychopath at a flying Wally.

Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask.

"WHAT?"

Both boys stopped in their movements and looked surprised at him, like the clone just stepped out of a parallel universe.

Robins hand sneaked behind his cape.

"Supy!" KF shouted from above. "You have to help me!"

"Why?" Interrupted Mustache Robin.

The heroes looked puzzled at him.

"Huh?"

"No, seriously why should he help you?"

Robin addressed Conner directly. The clone seemed even more confused by now.

"Being a hero is no fun. First of all, you always have to control your powers. I mean why have them if you're not allowed to use them? Then they hold you responsible for everything that goes wrong and finally at the end of the day you don't even get a thanks! Why would you want to be a Hero? "

The little bird easily perverted words and facts, while wrenching the meaning of being a hero. What a diabolic master mind.

"You know, Superman is never gonna recognize you as hero. At least as villain he is forced to look at you."

Robin slightly turned his head up to the left corner of the room. He seemed to space out for a sec.

"Being good gets you nowhere. So, come with me Con!"

Conner looked unsure of what to do.

"Nooooo! Superboy, you can't trust Mustache Robin! He is evil!" Kid Flash yelled.

Superboy was torn between Wally and Robin.

The Boy Wonder stepped closer, leaning forward with his lips barely pressed against Conner's ear and whispered:

"I have a mustache for you too."

Then he backed off and watched in silence the play of all the different emotions crossing Superboy's face.

"Are you in?" Mustache Robin asked again.

"Fine."

The boys eyes lit up.

"Really?"

The clone just nodded.

"Yay!"

Robin smiled wide, like he adopted a puppy. It was kinda intoxicating.

"Dude! Totally not fair! You can't switch sides Superboy!" KF protested from above.

"Watch me."

Robin took a spare mustache out of his utility belt and handed it to Conner.

After he put it on the little hacker linked arms with... Mustache Superboy. They stopped by the door and mustache Robin did a elegant bow.

"After you." He grinned.

"No after you." Superboy replied and mimicked his movement.

KF rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Hey! What about me?"

Mustache Robin raised an eyebrow.

"I think we just let you hang for now." He grinned mischievously.

The door closed behind them and Wally heard from the other side Superboy asking:

"What now?"

"Oh, Superboy my dear friend, we're villains, right? And what do villains do?"

Mustache Robin looked at him eagerly.

"Uh...evil things?"

"Exactly!" He nodded with enthusiasm, encouraging the clone to carry his thoughts forward.

"And what is the most evil thing you can imagine?"

Conner hesitated for a moment and wondered if their little bird had finally lost it.

Hahahahahahaha


	10. FUN 1

...

_Green light illuminated the otherwise dark factory. It was empty in there. Not a single human soul dared to set a foot in it._

_In the middle of the factory were giant barrels filled with toxic waste and fluid kryptonite. A sickening greenish steam flew through every corner, poisoning the air._

_It was boiling angrily underneath rusty roof beams, on which Superman and Robin were currently fighting. Quietly the two heroes were facing each other, as suddenly a lighting bolt crashed down. In silent agreement both of them took it as a start signal._

_The Boy Wonder threw a couple of smoke bombs on the ground of the beam, blocking the Man of Steel's vision. Deadly lasers cut through the thick wall of smoke just inches away from Robins face. It was pure luck that he hadn't been hit by one yet. They finally clashed together. Fists, kicks and punches, flew through the air. The young boy did a back flip to doge the iron fist of Superman._

_He landed gracefully on his feet and put all his remaining strength in his next kick as he aimed for the back of Superman's knee. The Kryptonian yelped in surprise as he lost his balance. The hero stumbled to the side and slipped. Robin watched him fall. Clark's scream echoed through the building._

_"Noooooo!"_

_Then the kryptonite acid swallowed him merciless. And silence ruled once again. Robin looked down at his victim and smiled._

Hahahahahahaha


	11. FUN 2

"Game over. I killed you."

Superboy dropped his controller in frustration.

Both 'villains' relaxed in front of a huge TV and playing peacefully with an Xbox. They were surrounded by diverse candy wrappers, a couple of ice cream boxes, a half eaten pizza and all kinds of sweets in general.

"How are you doing that? My power bar was full and even my special abilities were on!" Superboy asked frustrated. His character was dying over and over again.

"Well," Mustache Robin started, "If you press-"

"Never mind!"

He stopped the Boy Wonder before his explanation could get out of control. As always.

It wasn't that he didn't like Robin talking or anything. No, quiet the contrary was the case. What was unnerving to Conner was the fact that, most of the time, he just didn't understand what Robin was taking about. And strangely, everything the little bird had ever explained to him ended with an ominous thing called quantum mechanics. They just seemed to be everywhere! Robin never seemed to mind the lack of understanding though. He was probably used to it.

"This is no fun." Superboy grumbled, while he popped another piece of stolen candy into his mouth. According to Robin, the first rule about being a good villain implies to steal candy. Conner didn't really get why exactly that was so important, but he didn't complain. It was already noon and both of them were hungry, so they raid the team's candy reserves without mercy.

"Your right, kicking your butt with my superior skills is boring." The mini bat giggled like a hyper little ninja he was.

Superboy grimaced. Mustache Robin was acting kind of weird- no weirder by now.

The clone of Superman definitely hadn't collect enough information on human nature to understand the true meaning of a sugar high, yet. How could the G-noms conceal such things? They had to have a really bad sense of humor.

Robin tossed two spray bottles at Conner's head.

"Think fast!"

"What?"

"Hihihih, to slooooow."

The mini Bat stuck his tongue out and jumped from the couch, did 3 flips in a row and landed on his left hand.

"Lets go and redecorate KF's room!"

"Why?"

"Cause its fuuuuun!"

.  
.  
.

And it was fun, the clone thought. A lot of fun actually.

Painting was amazing. How easily you could turn one thing into something different, something new...individual. Just with a simple stroke of a brush the whole picture would change. Never going back to what it was before. It was fascinating.

"Hey, watch it! You got paint on me." A red stain graced Conner's face.

"Hihhihihihihhi. Suits you."

"Oi!"

Across Mustache Robin chest was now a big blue slash of color.

"That means revenge! Muhahahahaha"

"Bring it punk!"

.  
.  
.

Laughter echoed through the hallways. Not creepy, but carefree and light. Accompanied by a deep baritone.

Both boys were covered in all kind of different colors by the end of the "project", as Robin liked to call it. An innocence paint war had developed into a full-out pillow fight. The whole mountain extended into their battle field.

They were lying breathless on the floor, feathers still dancing through the air, paint smeared all over their bodies, and with a nice pair of goofy smiles on their faces. Robin turned around and watched Superboy for a moment.

Suddenly, the Boy Wonder shot up.

"What are you up to?" Conner asked in excitement.

"Gonna change Arty's colors! Green is out." His eyes flickered mischievously.

"You think she likes pink?"

Mustache Robin raised an eyebrow, stunned at Superboys suggestion. Conner truly earned his mustache with that.

"Megan does..." The clone said defensive not sure of what the other was thinking.

"Yeah this would work perfectly for her!"

A word and a bow.

.  
.  
.

 

"I am bored." Robin played absent-minded with his mustache. "Lets get out of here Supes!"

"Where?"

"Have you ever tried cotton candy?"

The confused lock on Conner's face spoke for itself.

"There is a carnival in town."

"And?"

Robin grinned.

"Lets go!"


	12. The End 1

Silence greeted Black Canary as she entered Mt. Justice. She didn't like it. It had never been that quiet before. Had something happened to the children during training? Was there an attack while she was gone? What was going on?

Her steps echoed eerily through empty corridors and she picked up her speed. By now, Dinah was almost running.

She turned the corner and was stopped in shock.

The entire hallway was covered in paint and feathers. She touched the wall next to her in disbelief, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The paint was already dry.

Slowly, Black Canary shook her head, when she noticed in regular intervals the symbol of the bat in all kind of colors. She could hardly imagine what had happened. Later she had to check in with the JLA for more information.

"This little...Urgggh! They are in so much trouble!"

How could she have been so naive? Of course Robin would go all out! She had imagined some damage on the Cave, but not that! And where were the kids anyway?

She passed a random broom closet and stopped yet again. There was a key and a note on the door saying: Damsel in distress.

Black Canary opened the door slowly- you can never be too careful if your dealing with a bat, after all.

A ray of light escaped inside the closet and the faint sound of rustling clothes was heard.

The heroine didn't hesitate any longer and yanked the door open.

"What? Artemis! Are you alright?"

The archer was sitting in there, eyes open and hands tied behind her back to a metal pipe. She was stripped of her gloves and boots and her bow and quiver were gone. Canary had originally assumed the room was totally dark, but a small bat shaped night-light in the left corner proved her wrong. A gentle smile found its way to the older hero's face. That boy..., she thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What took you so long? You should have been back hours ago." Artemis replied in annoyance while Dinah worked on the handcuffs.

Black Canary raised a surprised eyebrow. "What do you mean? I'm exactly on time."

"Huh?...But..."

Artemis pointed to the clock on the wall.

"The clock's three hours fast." BC clarified.

"No way! Then...How did he- He... he set the clock wrong...I thought the game was over...that's why I didn't try to...Arghh! ROBIN!"

"Where are the others?" Canary interrupted Artemis' rambling.

"We...they were heading for the basement..."

Canary nodded and turned around.

"What happened here?" Artemis asked in surprise as soon as she saw the mess in front of her.

"That's what I want to know, too."


	13. The End 2

On their way to the basement Artemis shared the tiny piece of information she could offer with Black Canary. They entered through the large door and went silence at the picture in front of them. There sat Aqualad, the mighty leader of the young justice team, bounded to a heater in his underwear with a drinking helmet on top!

Was there a SeaWorld logo on it? Never mind.

Kaldur lifted his head sloppily upward. The radiating heat around him seemed to make him a little disoriented.

A couple of seconds went by in which neither of them found the courage to lock eyes, before Artemis and Dinah finally broke out into a giant laughing fit. The sight was just priceless! Unbelievable! The bird-brain dose had a good sense of humor after all.

Aqualad cleared his throat in an attempt to save the last bit of dignity he had left. Which made it even more hilarious.

"Would you be so kind and..."

"Oh sure." BC hurried to say between her laughter and freed the Atlantean.

"So." She said still giggling. "Where is the rest?"

"I am sorry to disappoint you. I am not aware of there current locations." Kaldur replied. He didn't seem to have any intentions to remove the little 'gift' from his head soon.

"What's up with that?" Artemis asked, whipping a tear from her eye after she finally recovered. The archer pointed at the drinking helmet.

"Oh, it was there when I woke up." Kaldur said nonchalant.

He took an unconscious sip out of the straws attached to the two cans of water on each side of the hat, though, he had at least the decency to blush after he realized what he had just done, which made both girls laugh out loud again.

"It does comes in handy!" He tried to justify himself in vain.

"Let's find the others." Aqualad declares after the second laughing fit of the girls was over.

.  
.  
.

Together they went trough the Mountain, searching for Miss M, Kid Flash and Superboy.

"Did you hear that?" Kaldur asked.

The little group stopped in track.

"Yeah... sounds like a brown bear fighting with a lawnmower."

"What is that?"

"It's coming from Megan's room."

They looked at each other and nodded in unison.

"Be careful...it might be a trap." Black Canary warned, before they stormed in to defeat whatever evil creature made these barbarously sounds.

But all they found was Megan, sleeping peacefully in her bed and drooling all over a Superboy plushy. Occasionally she squished the innocent toy in her arms so hard that it's eyes almost popped out.

"Is this for real?"

"I can't believe she is making that noise?"

"No wonder Superboy sleeps on the other side of the mountain."

"How is that even possible?"

"Should we wake her up?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound healthy... at all."

.  
.  
.

The four of them continued their way through the mountain till they reached the control room. It was empty.

"Wally?" Artemis called.

"I thought they would be here..." Kaldur muttered

"Guy's! Finally!" an exited voice came from above.

All eyes looked up, to see Kid Flash floating through the air, accompanied by a whole bunch of empty candy wrappers.

"What are you doing up there?" Megan asked.

KF rolled his eyes at the question.

"You know the usual: chilling out, practicing some new poses in case i did learn how to fly..."

To prove his point he switched into a rather good imitation of a flying superman.

"You look ridiculous." Artemis said.

The speedster shrugged.

"Nobody is perfect babe. How about a little help Megalicious?"

"Sure."

Thanks to her meta-human superpowers Wally landed safely on the ground.

"Robin?" Canary assumed once his feet touched the floor.

"Who else?" KF replied.

After the speedster told his friends what had happened he grasped a candy bar out of nowhere and started munching at it, being deep in thought . For a long uncomfortable moment it was quiet.

"So." Wally started awkward. "We just forget that this has ever happened and never play with Rob again?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Everyone agreed eagerly.

"By the way, where are Robin and Superboy?"


	14. Carnival

Carnival.

Carnival was loud and bright. Tons of people were gathering together, only to stand in long lines for some roller coasters or junk food.

Carnival. Superboy didn't get it.

Robin had tried to explain. He talked about the parades and amusement rides, fireworks, the different games, the music and races, the tests of strength and skill and how all of that was supposed to be fun.

But to no avail. Superboy still didn't get it, maybe never will. Carnival wasn't his thing. It was just way to contrary to the clones brooding personality. But that didn't matter. Robin seemed to enjoy it, so it was fine. For now.

"How do you like it?" The boy asked him.

By now the two of them were dressed in clean civilian cloth. Mustaches left home at Mt. Justice.

Robin had told him that the training was over and they wouldn't need the unwanted attention by wearing it. Superboy had agreed, though, he kinda missed the evil, tickling feeling that went with it.

"It's crowded." Conner answered.

"It is." Robin smiled while making a one-handed flip.

"And it's loud."

"Sure. A lot of people make a lot of noise."

Superboy rolled his eyes on that.

"What are you planning to do with all of those?" The clone nodded toward a whole bunch of toys he voluntary carried for the little bird.

Robin shrugged.

"I don't know. Haven't thought about yet."

He played around with a small batman water gun, he had currently won at one of the many stalls. KF would probably kill to get one of those. The water was coming right out of Batmans-

"What's that?" Superboy interrupted his thoughts.

"It' s called house of mirrors."

"Why?"

"Cause it's full of mirrors."

"Why?"

"Well, every mirror is different. In some your appear like a giant and in the next you're a midget, or you are super skinny and then your really fat..."

There was a short pause in which Conner was trying to order the said things in his head. He came to the conclusion that he didn't understood.

"People tend to like watching different versions of themselves. How they could have been, you know? It's all about the illusion of possibilities and choices." Robin continued. "Wanna go in?" He asked unsure.

"I don't see the point of that. Whats the use of seeing something that I never will be." The clone said bitter.

"Uhm. Right. You know my grandma always told me that if you watch to deep into a mirror it will suck your soul out."

Conner lifted his head, distracted by the birds words, so his thoughts wouldn't wander a much darker path. It was rare for Robin to share personal information with him, or with anyone at all. Actually he never heard Robin speak about his civilian life.

"Sounds weird. Do you believe her?"

That earned a laughter from the boy wonder.

"Enough to not do it on purpose."

He grinned mischievous.

"Look! Over there! Cotton candy!"

After each of them got some, they strolled slowly towards an old tree a little outside of all the flurry of activity.

The huge branches were offering just the right amount of shadow and a cool breeze washed over them on an otherwise cloudless afternoon.

"It taste good." Conner said after a while.

"Told ya." The words came automatically out of Robins mouth.

"Say Robin, can I ask you something?"

"You actually just did. But go ahead." He barely suppressed an immature giggle.

"Why did you ask me to join you?"

"Why not?"

Conner couldn't look at Robin, his feed seemed suddenly really interesting.

"No, I mean why didn't you ask Kid Flash?"

Robin took his time to think about the question.

"Cause he is my friend. He would never betray me like that."

The little bird smiled gently at the confused look on Conner's face.

"Even if it doesn't seems like it Wally takes the training serious too."

"I thing you lost me there. What does this have to do with trust?"

Robin sight.

"I trust KF with everything. Even with the bad parts of mine. Especially with them. So if I should ever become a real villain, he would do anything to stop me, or knock some sense into me. That's what friends for. Nobody is perfect, but I know I can always count on him. No matter what. And so can he."

"Is that why you didn't asked him?"

"Yes."

"Do you trust me?"

"No."

That stung.

"Don't take it personal Superboy. It's a Bat-thing." He laughed lightly, before he popped another piece of the fluffy treat into his mouth.

"It took KF almost four years to earn my trust." He whispered.

"Was it worth it?"

"... yes."

Both boys let their thoughts wander in the peace of the day.

"You think we should go back?"

"Probably."


End file.
